What about the Hospital?

For those who have been following our partnership you might be wondering about our involvement in the Aweil Civic Hospital. Let me give a brief update.

A few weeks before leaving we learned that MSF have adopted a policy not to work with traditional midwives. They claim that in some instances there is a disincentive to bring mothers to the hospital. It was obvious that to supply birthing kits to Deborah at the hospital would be working against the operational practices of MSF and so we agreed that these would be best used in remote areas where home birthing is the only option. The previous article by Ros tells of how this has developed.

In addition to the supply of birthing kits, Deborah had asked us to provide some basic medical equipment and training. Now that MSF have taken over this role in the hospital this has become redundant. This of course is the best outcome as MSF are providing quality medical care. They report that the maternal mortality rate in the hospital has dropped from 22% to 1% since their takeover.

I have also had conversations with the Governor about supporting the development of one segment of the hospital. We haven’t been able to meet the Governor on this visit as he has been busy with pre-election campaigns, but after conversations with MSF we think it is unlikely this will proceed. The Ministry of Health has begun some refurbishments in conjunction with MSF and there are many other NGOs who have roles in the hospital. It seems we will be more effective if we concentrate in areas which have less resources and support. I will report more on this as it unfolds.